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ORLANDO, Fla. - Dick Waters takes sips from a small cup of the pure whiskey dripping out
of his still: an 8-foot-tall copper contraption with a long tube jutting off the side and dipping
into a large measuring container.

"It has to have a particular taste," Waters said in his barn just outside Umatilla, Fla. "And
you have to be patient when you do this; there's no two ways around it."

He will later pour the strong, clear liquid into white-oak barrels to age for several months and
smooth the taste, a process of distilling and bottling spirits that is usually associated with the
hills of Kentucky and Tennessee. Waters and his wife, Marti, are the only legal micro-distillers of
whiskey in central Florida and among only a handful in the state.

Since producing the first case of their Palm Ridge Reserve Whiskey in January, they have sold
more than 35 cases and hope to up that number to 500 by the end of the year. Each bottle of their
"handcrafted whiskey" retails for about $50 and can be found at more than two dozen liquor stores
around the state. The 90-proof spirit is also poured at about a dozen bars and restaurants in the
area.

It's part of a growing trend of folks across the country starting their own micro-distilleries
to create unique batches of gourmet spirits, including whiskey, vodka, rum and specialty
liqueurs.

"It's exploding," said Andrew Faulkner, a vice president of the American Distilling Institute in
Hayward, Calif. He compares it to the micro-brewing trend of a few decades ago, when gourmet
foodies started cooking up beer and wine at home.

"People are finding out that it's legal - with the right permits - and it's something that can
be done," Faulkner said about micro-distilling spirits.

Today, there are about 186 private micro-distilleries across the country, opening at a rate of
about a dozen a year. Most are located on farms and distill spirits using locally grown grains,
fruits and vegetables. Waters, for example, uses Florida-grown corn, along with barley malt,
toasted flaked rye and rye malt to produce the mash for his whiskey.

The trend also is playing out in Ohio. The new category of micro-distilleries, for companies
making less than 10,000 gallons and permitted to sell their output only at the distillery, was
created in 2008.

Middle West Spirits received a permit in April and expects to begin production of its own Oyo
Vodka in the Short North within several months. This would give Ohio three micro-distilleries. The
others are Cincinnati's Woodstone Creek and Tom's Foolery Hand-crafted Applejack in Chagrin
Falls.

Woodstone Creek released its first aged spirit, a bourbon whiskey, in 2008. It was the
conclusion of a 10-year journey for Don Outterson, who had approached state officials in 1998 to
originate the micro-distillery permit for Ohio. Tom's Foolery makes spirits entirely from
apples.

Some micro-distillers are following similar paths, including creating gins and vodkas infused
with pumpkin, wild berries and oranges.

"It goes hand-in-hand with the current locally grown food movement," Faulkner said. "People are
becoming more aware of what they are putting in their mouths, and that includes spirits."

In Palm Coast, James Day distills rum, vodka and whiskeys at his Flagler Spirits distillery. The
47-year-old former funeral director is "a fourth-generation distiller" who learned how to make
whiskey when he was 9.

"It's a fun thing to do. And it's amazing how people get excited about their product once they
start," Day said.

"But a lot of people get into it as a hobby, looking it at from the romantic aspect: 'Hey, I'm a
whiskey-maker,'" he said. "But it's a hot, dirty job. You don't want to see whiskey one-third of
the way into the process."

For the Umatilla-area couple, it's become a full-time job, and they have yet to turn a
profit.

"At our scale we're probably not going to get rich," Mrs. Waters said. "But we're just trying to
produce a good whiskey and hopefully make some money at it."